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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · firm · bark · nail · spell · prune · press · capital

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — an amount
  5. prune — to trim
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spell — a short time
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. press — to push
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. press — a publisher
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — decided
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. spell — magic
  23. firm — steady
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com